An exact branch-and-bound algorithm for <i>seru</i> scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setup time and release date

This paper concentrates on the scheduling problem in seru production system (SPS), which is a new-type advanced system with high manufacturing flexibility to response the volatile market. Motivated by practical scenarios, the seru scheduling problem in this paper considers the sequence-dependent setup time and release date to minimize the total weighted tardiness. A mixed integer programming (MIP) model is formulated, and the branch-and-bound (B & B) algorithm combining dominance propositions and the lower bound strategy is designed subsequently. Finally, computational experiments are conducted. A series of experimental results show that the proposed B & B algorithm performs very well in finding high-quality solutions, and it can find exact and near-exact solutions for 216 randomly generated instances quickly. Even when CPLEX is unable to solve the problems in five-hour, the B & B algorithm can return optimal solutions for as many as 5 serus and 22 products in a very short CPU time.